Colorado ranks third in the nation for high numbers of tech jobs. Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post

Colorado‚Äôs tech industry employed 162,600 in 2012, adding 600 net jobs from a year ago, according to the 15th edition of the Cyberstates report from the TechAmerica Foundation, a trade association.

The tech workforce represents 8.7 percent of the private sector workforce in the state, placing it No. 3 in the nation in terms of concentration.

Tech employees earned an average annual wage of $97,100 in 2012, 98 percent more than the average private sector wage and 7th-highest in the nation. Colorado’s total tech workforce ranked No. 15 in the country and its increase of 600 net jobs placed 22nd.

‚ÄúColorado‚Äôs innovation economy is growing thanks to our skilled workforce, world-class institutions of higher education and our innovative spirit,‚ÄĚ Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said in a prepared statement. ‚ÄúFrom developing alternative energy solutions to maintaining the second-largest aerospace economy in the country, Colorado companies provide good-paying, middle-class jobs for those who work, live and play in Colorado.‚ÄĚ

Colorado has about 37,300 workers in Internet and telecom services and 30,900 workers in engineering services, according to the report.

Nationally, the tech industry added 67,400 net jobs in 2012, for a total of 5.95 million workers, representing 5.4 percent of the private sector workforce. The average U.S. tech wage was $93,800 compared to $47,700 for the private sector. Cyberstates relies on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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We certainly don’t need hundreds of thousands more H1B slaves. We need to hire more Americans.

Tamara Chuang covers personal technology and local tech news for The Denver Post. She previously spent 10 years doing the same thing for The Orange County Register before taking a hiatus to move here and become a SAHM to a precocious toddler.

Laura Keeney is a business reporter with The Denver Post, covering aerospace, aviation and biotech. Over the last two decades, she's covered everything from agribusiness to punk rock. Keeney holds an AACSB-accredited MBA from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY.